Director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson flew into Mumbai. Smiling and hugging the children, Boyle said a home had been bought for Ismail, 9, who played the character of Salim as a child. He added they would soon buy one for Ali as well, who plays the young Latika.

The “Jai Ho” trust, named after the film’s award-winning track, and set up by Boyle and Colson, is meant to pay for the education and basic living costs of Ismail and Ali until they turn 18. A director for the trust said the apartment for Ismail was “comfortable, in a good neighborhood (and) near his school” and cost “upwards of 2 million rupees” ($42,000).

Boyle, who came under fire for not doing enough for the children who lived in squalor despite the film’s success, blamed the media for raising the families’ expectations. “Inevitably, the tension and pressure is media generated,” he said, after greeting Ali and Ismail with a hug. “They were given access to a world, an extraordinary and glamorous world, and they understandably want their lives to be completely transformed,” Boyle said. “The homes are a concern. That is one of the reasons why we built the trust.” [THR]

Boyle’s got a point. These kids didn’t have huge parts in the movie. You pay people for their work – just because your movie does well doesn’t mean you have to go back and pay your extras’ mortgages. Really it’s India that’s the problem. You can’t claim the kids as national heroes and then knock their house down and then demand that the west give you more money.. Even in North Korea they give you a shiny uniform.

Hey, Festering Boyle, just hug the kids for your photo op and shut the fuck up.

By: FistfulOAwesome

05.28.2009 @ 10:14 AM

That glamorous world included the toilet being it’s own room rather than the front yard.

By: FistfulOAwesome

05.28.2009 @ 10:19 AM

Fuck Danny Boyle. Uwe Boll has been providing housing (read: sleep at the set) for his actors for years.

By: Donkey Hodey

05.28.2009 @ 10:27 AM

If India is going to learn to worship celebrities like the west they they need to at least make sure those celebrities aren’t homeless. They’re not quite ready for Christopher Lloyd or Nick Nolte type celebrities just yet.

By: DrAndonuts

05.28.2009 @ 10:29 AM

I had a Boyle on me once. It was also an unpleasant lump, but I didn’t get a free house afterwards.